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Fair point, it's a stunning bike and did make me think when I saw it a couple of days ago. I'm not sure it would look quite as nice with the Shimano crankset (and brakes?) though.
Re: Clearance
This is the rear with 25mm Gatorskins and Raceblade Long:
and the front:
On the back there's 8mm between tyre and the bracket for the mudguard. On the front it's definitely tighter and a bit harder to measure as I need to cut/file the raceblade's bracket down so that I can raise it without it hitting the underside of the headset.
So, I think 27mm with the Raceblade Longs will work, proper mudguards (eg. PDW) is a different story; I'd guess that rear would be ok but I'm not sure about front. What do you reckon?
Edit: looking at the front again, that's definitely not enough room for 27mm+guards is it? I like the raceblade longs so will probably stick with them for a while.
MichaelG-
I think the best thing to do is to get the mudguard sorted before you get the tyres, this way you can be certain if the 27mm will fit.
Failing that, the other option is going for a wider rims that increase the tyres size from 25mm to 26/7mm, the benefit is that you can run it at similar pressure as a 28mm while feeling nice and planted like a 23mm.
edscoble
One of those American hipster road bike look good with the modern Shimano;